Israeli startup comes to Syracuse in chase of a dream, and funding

Amir Cohen, left, works with business partner Hagar Romach at the StartFast Accelerator in Syracuse.

Ryan DelaneyWRVO

It was his 22-year-old niece that gave Amir Cohen the inspiration to quit his job working in Israel's tech sector and start his own company.

Every time she gets in a taxicab in Israel she has her cell phone in-hand, ready to call her father in case of an emergency.

"This was the original trigger," Cohen recalls. "Letting people feel safer and be safer on their daily routine - when they're going to a party, getting in a taxi, whatever."

The end product: a smartphone app called Guard My Angel that allows users to pre-program a list of emergency contacts. If you feel threatened or are in an accident, an alert is sent out with your location.

Jumping in

Cohen teamed up with another former coworker looking for a career change, Hagar Romach.